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Koorie nodded and glanced down at Miu, who had slunk quickly and quietly to press herself against her trainer's leg. Chances were, the little Vulpix wasn't going to forgive her anytime soon for shoving her into an area so heavily populated with people. "C'mon, lets get you something to eat...."

Miu kept close to her trainer's heels, being careful not to trip her trainer, but certainly not lagging behind enough so that other humans could get to her. It wasn't that she was afraid of humans, she just disliked most of them. Her ears twitched at the sound of a yip, and she paused a moment to look around before dashing to catch up to Koorie as a gap formed between them.

Koorie took a rather full bowl of soup and brought it back to the fire, sitting a bit of distance from the other trainers but close enough so that she could speak to them without yelling. Placing the bowl next to her, her Vulpix was instantly beside her. Cautiously the pokemon sniffed at the soup, trying to decide if it was going to be safe or not.

"OK, I'll leave that one alone." Shikari definitely didn't want to upset anyone. She wasn't so sure about the idea of a curse, but if they didn't like it...well then, she wouldn't do it. "Umm..." She found herself in possession of an empty bowl she had no clue what to do with. "Where do you want me to put this?" She smiled awkwardly. She hoped Shina would simply take it from her, since she wouldn't be able to tell where her friend was pointing otherwise.

"I don't, but....I prefer to sleep outside. With the wind on my face," came the dreamy-drowsy reply. She was practically falling asleep where she sat. Warm food and a long day had worn her out. "Whoo.....goodnight...."

Shikari barely made it into her bag with a mumbled 'thank you' before drifting off to sleep.

However, her rest was shortlived. A few hours later, she awakened to the sound of angry yelling. She sat up. Someone yelling at a....he called it a...Bullitsel? What the heck was that? The young-sounding male voice was obviously VERY mad at it, too. She rubbed her eyes. Something about the tone wasn't right. As she got up to investigate, forgetting her new cane entirely, what she heard made it clear that he did not have a very high opinion of the whatever-it-was anymore.
She carefully drew closer, pausing very close to the sounds. What she heard made her heart stop. The characteristic 'click' of a gun being readied. "STOP!!" Shikari screamed, bursting out of the brush and nearly falling on her face. "I'll buy it - the uh - the creature - don't shoot it!" Stumbling forward, she dug her hands into her pockets and pulled out the only money she had - a five-dollar bill. She prayed it would be enough. "Don't," she pleaded. The other "trainer" snatched the bill out of her outstretched hand...and released the pokemon from its ball. "Do as you will," he sneered. "She's useless." Shikari stood for a moment, trying to take in all that had just happened.
She dropped to her knees. OK, so if there's a pokemon like I think, where is it exactly? Approaching where she'd heard the ball-release sound, she felt around and brushed against something furry. And dirty. "There you are..." It did not respond, breathing only shallowly as she felt over its skinny body. The only sign that it was alive besides the rise and fall of its sides was that it kept discharging tiny zaps of electricity at Shikari's hands.
"Thousands of little sparkles," she said with a mixture of sadness and wonder. "I'll call you Chiyo, little one. For a thousand sparkles."

((OOC: I expect Shina would've woken up when Shikari screamed. She still needs the pokeball.)

"Yes, please." She was grateful for the assistance, and would have laughed at the guy except for the fact that she was absolutely preoccupied. She took the ball from Shina. "A new ball for a new start, Chiyo." She bumped it gently on the Blitzle, and as the ball enveloped it, she choked back a tear. "Poor thing," she whispered. "Let's get it help right now."

@ Trist

Miu had begun to lap up a small amount of the soup when she once again heard a soft yip. Lifting her head up and perking her ears, her bright blue eyes scanned the surrounding area. It didn't take much scanning for her to notice the shiny Ninetales there, the moonlight making his fur nearly glow.

Casting a glance at Koorie, who seemed to have fallen asleep while sitting straight up on the ground, the Vulpix got up and very carefully took a couple of steps towards the other fox pokemon.

@kira

Arthmael lay down onthe soft grass to make himself less treating looking and tilted his head slightly, offering a warm smile as the vulpix came closer. Yipping his salutations, he wagged a couple of his tails. His ears twitched and he looked back towards where his human was, there was some commotion, but for the bits he could gather, it was long done with and under control, so he turned his attention back to Miu.

@The rest of you

Heal bolted up, having fallen asleep with his back resting against a tree. He gave a slightly shiver as he pulled his arms away from Tripod's warmth and went over to see what was going on. It seemed another Healer was taking care of things, but he decided to stay close, either to learn something new or offer help if necessary.

Shikari nodded and pushed the button. Chiyo popped out in a flicker of light but still did not even look at her rescuers. "It didn't seem horribly injured when I felt it over," Shikari told the healer, "but it still won't respond. I've had experience with catatonia before....maybe that's what it...what's keeping it from seeming to notice anyone."